Tomorrow
by kuramagal
Summary: Sequel to Today, with Yusuke gone and Kurama here Keiko realizes that her definition of friendship and love are not as different as she first believed. KuramaXKeiko


**Tomorrow  
Kuramagal**

**Genre: Romance/Drama**

**Rating: K+ **

**Summary: Sequel to Today, with Yusuke gone and Kurama here Keiko realizes that her definition of friendship and love are not as different as she first believed. (KuramaXKeiko)**

**(A/N): Enjoy.**

It had been a long time since I had felt a pair of arms encircle me. Months since someone not my kin and not my girlfriends had hugged me. I suppose that is why when he reached out tentatively to embrace me this afternoon, I let him. Even so, when I felt his warm arms slip around me the first thing I remember feeling was panic. My mind reeled with possibilities of what would happen if someone saw us, if Kuwabara, Hiei, or any of the girls knew. But my worries melted away as my nose detected his smell. I thought about how nice he smelled. It was a musky and floral smell that eluded a gentle yet masculine aura; it was very like him I remembered thinking.

His body was nice too. It was hard and muscular, like Yusuke's. But at the same time it was leaner and lither. No, perhaps I was wrong. Maybe it had something to do with way he was holding me. His embrace was protective like Yusuke's had always been, but at the same time it felt like I could slip out of it at anytime. It was different. Yusuke would crush me to his chest, embrace me with everything he had. Yusuke wanted to keep me all to himself. But Kurama did not do that. He was gentle because he knew I did not belong to him.

I think that was the first day I realized that the platonic relationship I shared with Kurama had progressed to something more. As we said our goodbyes after that first hug, I realized how much our relationship changing scared me. My life had never been stable, with Yusuke as my boyfriend stability was impossible, but it at least had been constant. Now I was floating somewhere in a nebulous of uncertainty. With Yusuke gone and Kurama here, I did not know what my future held.

Yusuke had left weeks before, after proposing to me. My parents had laughed at Yusuke's antics, but I knew that this time it was different. Yusuke's voice had an unnaturally solemn tone to it. Yusuke joked often, but this time he was serious. This time he meant what he said, and for some reason that unnerved me.

But that in itself was strange. Why would I be so uneasy about marrying him? I had always envisioned myself loving, marrying and growing old with Yusuke. I already knew what our children would be like. Smart like me, but strong like Yusuke. They would be little devils, I realized, with enough strength to topple buildings, but with Yusuke's chocolaty eyes. I knew I would never be able to deny them anything. It was my dream. It had been my dream since before I could remember; it was a constant.

But with Kurama thrown into the picture my dreams began to change. Now, I saw myself with brown haired children that were soft-spoken and had the most beautiful green eyes. I knew what we would be like when we grew old. I also knew that should we marry, Kurama would mourn my death long after I passed. Could I see myself with the red-haired demon? On certain occasions I could. Kurama was a chameleon, and he acted the part of the polite, intelligent young man well. However, at other times like the Dark Tournament, the person I thought I knew disappeared. Kurama changed during those times. He became something that was not the quiet, kind, intellectual man I knew. There he became a demon; there he could be as ruthless as Hiei. Yusuke did not change; he was forever the same hotheaded and boisterous young man I knew. He did not change from the arena to when he held me in his arms. He was constant.

I liked things to be constant. I had never been good with changes, but fate seemed to think it was funny to bombard me with them at all time. And at the center of this forever changing trap created by fate was Yusuke. Yusuke kept getting stronger and progressing in ways that were unlike anything I had ever believed possible; it was inhuman. But that was just what he was, not human. Now, as he left for the demon world to find his ancestor there, I had to wonder why I had yet to adapt.

It was at these times that I turned to Kurama. He was my constant when Yusuke was not. He forever remained there for me, as a friend I could talk to. Our relationship had made significant progress since our first true encounter during the Dark Tournament. We had a bond now, one that people only people who shared our experiences had. But it hit me one day that not everyone would see our relationship as platonic as it was.

I originally thought that no one would notice my sudden increase of time spent with Kurama. That had been one of my first miscalculations. I suppose in my mind I had always thought of Kurama as a friend, someone who I had shared a very unique past with, and due to that our closeness was only natural. I completely forgot that others would not see our relationship in the same causal light that I did. I never really realized how our relationship came across to other until one day when I came home from school. My mother caught me as I was heading up the stairs. "Who is that handsome young man who visited you yesterday?" I turned to stare at my mother. What on earth was she talking about? Did she mean Kurama? I shifted and she continued with a frown, "I thought you were dating Yusuke?"

I smiled as casually as I could. "Shuuchi's just a friend, mother. We go to the same school. He was helping me with something." My response was hasty, and I quickly hurried up the stairs. When I was safely upstairs, I shut the door behind me and waiting for my heart to return to a steady beat. I realized then my mother was the second person after myself whom I lied to.

"You seem distracted today, Keiko." Kurama remarked as we walked home from school. His voice was mild but I still started. We did this everyday now. When he had been around, Yusuke had always done this for me, even when he had not actually attended school he was always there to meet me at the gates just as the bell let out. It had surprised me then how he, a delinquent with no sense of time or its importance, was always waiting for me at precisely the right time. Now however, Kurama had taken his place. Not that I was complaining of course, I truly did enjoy his company.

"I'm sorry," I smiled at his statement and brushed some of my long hair back to get a better look at him. "I was just thinking about Yusuke."

Kurama smiled back. "Yes, well I'm sure you do miss him. How long has it been now? A month or so?"

It was strange to hear him guess, especially since I was certain he knew. "Yes," I affirmed. "It's nearing a month." I would have loved to add that I did indeed miss him. Truth be told, however, I had not yet. Between all of the time I spent studying for classes and being with Kurama I had not had a single moment where I had truly missed Yusuke. That was the most frightening realization of all.

"Well," Kurama said adjusting both our school bags over his shoulder – he insisted on carrying mine. "I'm sure you'll be happy when he can come home."

I smiled and nodded. "Of course." I wondered secretly if he could tell my smile was fake.

"In the meantime, you will have to settle for me walking you home and monopolizing your free time." I smiled at his statement. He knew very well that I enjoyed our time together more than anything else. Kurama was a wonderful person to have as a friend. He mixed together the perfect amount of attention, kindness and desirability which made him truly unique.

"I suppose I shall," I agreed with a telltale smile. "How am I so unlucky?"

Kurama shrugged in nonchalance. "Well for starters, you are friends with a known notorious demon thief."

"Ah yes, that must be it."

Truly though, the fact that Kurama was a demon did not register to me on a normal basis. Rather, it was only at moments like this when he made that fact a known fact that I truly remembered. I sometimes wondered if he did so on purpose. The reason for his insistence on making known his heritage remained a mystery to me, yet I did not let it bother me.

When we arrived at my house, I turned and embraced him. It had become our new custom to embrace when he finally walked me to my door. My embrace melted away at his words, however. "I have to leave."

"Leave?" I queried, taking a step back from him as a frown etched my features. "Leave for where?"

His green eyes glanced away from me. "The demon world."

I was stunned. Him too? "I see," I answered vaguely.

He nodded darkly his vivid eyes meeting my own. "Yes, I have been summoned by an old acquaintance who wants my help with something." Kurama was more vague than I was.

"Another demon then?" I asked. Kurama did not hesitant as he nodded. "I see then. So is there going to be another tournament then?"

Kurama paused for a moment to contemplate my question. His eyes were withdrawn making him more impossible than ever to read. "I'm not certain of anything right now. I don't envision us having to fight in another tournament. However." There he stopped.

"However?" I repeated as I unconsciously clenched the fabric of my uniform skirt.

Kurama looked at me. "You have to understand that in the demon world is like one big tournament." He sighed softly and shoved back a renegade strand of his red hair. "As for what you were thinking. I think now you'll understand why my answer will be no."

I glared at him reproachfully. "You were reading my mind?"

He had the decency to look embarrassed. "I'm sorry," he began slowly. "But you have gotten harder to read facial the more I've gotten to know you."

"Isn't that the opposite of how it should be?"

My retort was sharper than I meant, but Kurama did not seem fazed. He merely shrugged. "Yes, but I never realized how complex you were, Keiko. Nor did I anticipate becoming this close to you. I generally do not allow myself to get this close with humans."

"Aren't I special then," I mumbled.

Kurama stared me down. "Yes, you are." Something about the way he said that made me stare at him.

I did not know how to respond to that. Silence descended on us. "You'll let me know how you're doing, right?" I finally asked.

Kurama looked genuinely touched by my concern. "I'll try to, Keiko. But please understand, there aren't many phone lines that will connect us."

I bit my lip. "I know that."

Kurama smiled. "You don't have to worry about me, Keiko. Really, I'll be fine."

I nodded slowly, but in my mind images of the Dark Tournament flashed before my eyes.

True to his promise, Kurama called me twice. The first time the line was over taken by static, so our conversation was brief. During our short talk, Kurama told me that things were going well. He said that Yusuke was wreaking havoc. _As usual, _my mind thought. And that they would be home sooner than expected.

The next time he called the line was clear, but he sounded tired. We talked only for a short while, because soon into the conversation I heard Hiei's impatient voice. "Fox, get over here! Stop talking to the human girl! Do you want to bleed all over the floor?"

My heart clenched painfully while Kurama tiredly said, "Hiei, I'm all right. I'll be off in a moment." His attention turned back to me. "Listen Keiko, I have to go. Hiei is being dramatic. I'm fine. But I will see you when I get back. Okay?" When I hung up the phone, my hands were trembling and a feeling of forbiddance settled over me.

A few days after Kurama's call, Kuwabara made an unexpected call to my house. I was downstairs finishing cleaning up from the lunch rush when his burly form came into the shop. "Kuwabara!" I greeted the tall red-haired man with a hug. "How are you?"

After we had exchanged pleasantries for a few minutes, Kuwabara started to talk about things I really wanted to hear about. "Yusuke did not win the demon tournament." I started in surprise. Yusuke had lost? Was that even possible? "I know right?" Kuwabara agreed acknowledging my surprised look. "He lost to Yomi, one of the demon kings he challenged in the first place. Jin and Touya both lost as well, so did Chou." I nodded keeping my face neutral. With the exception of Yusuke's, these names meant nothing to me and thus were not important. I just wanted to hear about certain people.

"And what about Hiei and Kurama?" I asked fishing for information I truly wanted, yet at the same time trying not to seem too interested. "How did they do?"

Kuwabara sighed. "Well, from what Yusuke tells me Hiei lost to that chick, Mukuro. Yusuke said it was it was a good fight though. Hiei really did some damaged to the arena at least. As far as Kurama fights are concerned, well." Kuwabara paused looking uneasy. "Let's just say the usual happened."

I blinked. "What do you mean?" The heaviness I had been feeling was back now.

Kuwabara sighed and rubbed the back of his head. "You know Kurama." He said the phrase casually, but his eyes were dark. "He tends to analyze situations too much. He faced off against this Shigure guy, and he won. But in the process of getting there he nearly killed himself."

"Is he alright?" I asked alarmed.

Kuwabara nodded. "Yeah, I think so. Yusuke did not sound too worried about him. He said Kurama said he'd be fine after a few days."

The mental images I was getting were not pleasant. And Kuwabara seemed to notice how upset I was. "Do not worry, Keiko. Yusuke's fine, and he'll back here soon."

I longed to tell him it was not Yusuke I was worried about, but I knew I could not. There were some things that you could not tell you boyfriend's best friend.

Surprisingly, when Yusuke arrived home a few days later, it was in a quiet fashion. Naturally, I he came to me last where he found me on the beach. It was the romantic meeting I had always dreamed of, and I remember thinking how fantastic he looked. Buff, tan, and attractive just like always. Now later after our reunion on the beach, we settled back into our routine. And although I should have been the happiest woman in the world, a nagging feeling of unease stayed with me since Yusuke's return. To me it felt like I did not want him back. But that was ridiculous, I told myself as I waited for the feeling to dissipate. Now a week had passed, yet the feeling persisted.

I thought in my heart and soul that I wanted Yusuke to be back in the human world. But now that he was here, I felt as though he was getting in my way. The way of what, I had still not figured out, however. What was it that I felt Yusuke threatened? The truth, I suppose was more frightening than I was willing to admit.

These thoughts were constantly on my mind, including the time I spent with Yusuke. But they were especially prevalent one day when we were relaxing under one of the large trees between classes. Yusuke was laying down, his head in my lap. My fingers gently tugged their way through his hair in a soothing rhythm. It was not quite what I wanted to do, yet it gave me something to do that would take my mind off other events or people. Besides that, Yusuke seemed to enjoy it tremendously.

Yusuke sighed contently as my fingers continued to massage his head. He opened his eyes and looked up at me. "I missed you so much," he told me as he gently tugged on my brown locks. "I missed everything about you." He snuggled closer to me. "I missed your smile, your eyes, your scent." He sighed happily. "I missed so much about you. I'm so happy we are here, together finally." He leaned back against his arms, a peaceful smile on his face as the sunlight reflected all around him. I felt myself start at his declaration. He loved me this much, and yet I had not missed him. I felt my heart sever itself from my body. This could not continue, my working brain now told me. You will hurt him, it continued, because you don't love him.

"No." The word came out choked as though all my emotion had contained itself in that one single-syllable word.

Yusuke started at my declaration. "What?" he asked softly, his brown eyes staring into my own. His voice sounded like a wounded child's and his eyes reflected the same vulnerability. He looked betrayed as he lifted his head from my lap "What did you say, Keiko?"

"Yusuke." I swallowed. "I can't." My voice was faint, and for a moment I did not believe that I was saying these things. I stood up frantically, Yusuke following me in confusion and desperation. "We can't anymore. We … We aren't anymore, Yusuke." I pushed past him with a tearful, "I'm sorry!" Suddenly, I found myself running at top speed trying desperately to get away from him and that look of pure betrayal.

I sprinted the whole way home, never looking back. When I entered the shop, I hurried past my parents and up the stairs to my room. In the still quiet of my room, I slowly sat on my bed, and waited for the tears to fall. They soon came, streams that saturated my cheeks. Yet I paid them no mind, the entire time all I could think about was what had just happened. What I had just done.

I heard the door slowly creak open behind me. I jumped into action quickly brushing the streaming tears from my eyes. Even once I was properly cleaned of my tears, I did not look towards the door. I waited for the person to announce themselves, yet my only response was a hand gently rested itself on my shoulder. The tears formed anew. Why on earth had my mother let him up here? I did not want to talk with him now! I could not. I knew he had come to apologize for something he had not done. I could not listen to him beg me to come back. If I listened to him now, I would not be able to refuse him, and if I took him back, I would never be able to push him away again. "Yusuke, please." I pushed the offending hand off my shoulder. Seconds later I found my fingers caught in long elegant ones.

"Not quite." A warm and tantalizingly familiar voice responded.

My heart skipped a beat as I spun to see my hand not clutched by Yusuke's fingers but by Kurama's. Unable to help myself I embraced him. As my arms wrapped tightly around him, I felt his frame tense. My arms fell to my sides and I stared at him wide-eyed. I found his hand grip his upper right arm and his eyes downcast in pain. "You're hurt again!"

Kurama smiled weakly. Slowly and calmly he said, "You make it sound like this happens often." My eyes narrowed, and I opened my lips to protest that yes, in fact it did. But before I could, he sighed softly. "I am fine."

I frowned. "Kuwabara said you were in pretty bad shape after this last fight."

Kurama shrugged lightly. "Kuwabara was not there, and Yusuke exaggerates. I'm fine." When he found I would not be appeased, he asked, "What can I do to prove that I'm fine?"

I hesitated for a moment and then walked over and shut my bedroom door. Turning back to him, I responded, "Take off your shirt."

As I expected, Kurama's eyes widened at my request. "Keiko, I don't think-"

"-You asked," I interrupted as I tossed some of my long brown hair behind my shoulder. "I want to see for myself what you did to yourself."

Kurama looked wary. "Keiko-" He stopped himself. He shook his head. "All right." Slowly he reached up and undid the buttons with one hand. As he did so, he said offhandedly, "I still don't see your interest though."

I glanced at him judiciously. "Do you always undo your buttons one handed?"

Kurama sighed. "No. But I am injured Keiko, I'm not denying that." Throwing his good shoulder back, he let his shirt slide off onto my bed.

The first thing I saw were the bandages that spiraled from his chest over to his arm stabilizing the limb. Underneath them, I could tell that his shoulder was swollen. I breathed in a shaky breath. "Who?"

Kurama tilted his head downward and stared, confusion spreading across his features. "Who? What are you asking, Keiko?"

"Who bandaged you up? You could not have done that on your own." My fingers reached out tentatively to touch the pristine white bandages.

Kurama looked down at himself. "Hiei. He took care of me. It's one of the benefits of having him as a friend. He knows quite a bit about first aid."

"I take it that is from personal experience?" I asked dryly.

Kurama's smile was forced. "Yes, he's had enough unfortunate encounters to usually take care of my minimal wounds."

I glanced at his shoulder which was immobilized by the bandages. "I would hardly call that minimal."

Kurama sighed. "Well, that is your opinion. Now that you have seen what you needed to see, may I put my shirt back on?"

I sighed. This was all the answer I was going to get on the subject. Kurama was not going to tell me what had happened or what lay under those layers of bandages. I sighed knowing it was forever my fate to be left out of the proverbial loop. I was about to reach behind him and hand him his shirt when I noticed something. Taking a step forward, I stared at his chest. "I did not realize you had so many."

Kurama's body grew tense and he glanced at me perturbed. "What?"

"Scars, I did not realize you had so many." It was true. Up close I noticed just how many he had. They were all different too. Some thin and long, others deep, some jagged. I reached my hand forward tentatively, glancing at Kurama for approval.

I saw him nod, and gently my fingers met skin. I ran my fingers over the bumps and ridges. The scar felt and looked like any other I had seen, but to me this one was particularly interesting because I saw how it came about. "This was from Karasue's bombs, I remember now." I let my fingers trace over the healed skin as my mind wandered to a time years previous. "How does your mother not notice these?" I wondered aloud.

"I'm afraid I don't exactly go parading myself naked in front of her." The comment sounded sardonic, but I knew he was being serious. "I think she might think I was in a gang or something along those lines." Kurama sighed darkly. "And she would not be far off."

That was definitely true. The little group Yusuke had put together was as close to being a gang as anything was. "But surely she notices that you're injured. Especially after the Dark Tournament."

Kurama nodded his eyes distant at the memory. "Yes, she noticed and I lied. Just as I always have. She doesn't ask the particulars, and I don't tell them."

I nodded and then with boldness and discretion I asked, "And what if I did?"

Kurama's eyebrows scrunched together in confusion. "What if you what? Asked me what really happened? Exactly how I came by these wounds? Are you asking if I would tell you?"

"Yes."

Kurama paused for a second and then replied, "I would tell you what you needed to know."

His answer stunned me momentarily. Just what did _that _mean? "What if I wanted to know everything?"

Kurama shook his head. "I'm not going to tell you what you really don't want to hear."

"But Karasue-" I began.

He cut me off. "-You were there for that. I could not fabricate my way out of it. You _saw_ how I got those wounds. This is different. You were not there is this time."

_You weren't there._ I felt myself bristle at the words. "I wanted to be there!

"No, Keiko you did not." His green eyes were dark with pain. Then quite suddenly, he added, "I now understand why Yusuke always lied to you when he had cases. I don't want you to watch me fight. I'm sorry Keiko, truly I am. But it's not fair to you to do that."

"Why?" I shot back hurt and angry at the same time.

"Because it would hurt you to see me in pain, to see me die."

My heart leapt at the word. No matter how bad everything had been, I never realized nor believed that they could die. It was childish of me, but I always believed that they would win. That good would triumph over evil. I never thought that this perfect good versus evil was merely a fantasy of mine, that it was not real. Kurama's words solidified that in a way that I never realized was possible. He made me understand the realness of the situation.

Our conversation reminded me of something Yusuke had told me a long time ago. The setting was different. Kurama's was calmer that Yusuke and his words were more refined, but the tone of the message was the same. It was in this moment that I realized Yusuke and Kurama were the same to me now. And that Kurama no longer considered me as his friend. This conversation was difficult for him because of that. Sighing, I realized that I could not continue this talk today, so I found something else and swiftly changed the subject.

"Do they hurt?" I asked my fingers reached up once more to tentatively touch one of the familiar scars.

Kurama's eyes glanced from me to the particularly jagged scar my digits were touching. For a moment he seemed lost in thought, but then he shook his head slowly. "Not on their own. The ones that were paired with broken bones do at times. But for majority the pain I feel is from memory." I must have looked confused because he added, "Theirs is not a physical pain parse; but rather a mental so acute that it is perceived by the mind as real. Over the years I've learned to contain that type of pain."

"How?" I asked with quiet curiosity.

Kurama merely shrugged. "Practice. I learned to decipher what is real from what is memory. Despite how my human body looks, I'm much older." He paused for a second and shook his head. "You know that. You've seen me."

I nodded slowly a memories of the white fox demon circled in my mind. "Yes, I know that." My voice sounded like an echo and it made me pause. While I did know that, something about his statement seemed strange. The wounds he had received, he could completely block out pain just like that? "You don't feel any pain then?"

He shook his head. "No. Not while I'm awake."

"Not while you're awake?" I repeated.

"In dreams the pain is more acute and more real. It is that those times that I have more difficulty blocking the pain." I thought he would say more, but he did not. He merely sat shirtless on my bed, looking like a defeated man. His injured arm rested weakly in his lap as he kept his head downcast. I wanted to embrace him, tell him that I was sorry for prying. But I could not do that, not now. Kurama would take my care for pity, and my apology as fake compliance. Truly there was only one thing I could do which would tell him that I cared and that was sorry for my intrusion. My fingers curled around the material of his shirt, I slowly lifted it off the bed and shook it out. Holding it up, I offered it to him. "Here, let me help you."

Kurama stared at me momentarily, before standing up. Starting with his injured arm, together we eased his body back into the dress shirt. Once it was on, Kurama fumbled with the buttons for a few seconds, taking the same amount of time to do one as it would take to do four. Reaching forward, I said, "Here, let me help you."

The room was quiet while I buttoned his shirt. I was on the very last button when he spoke. "His name was Shigure." I looked up at Kurama's face. The red-haired man had a faraway and slightly haunted look about him. "I knew him from my previous life."

I nodded. "He is dead then?"

Kurama nodded crisply. "Yes, but I did not kill him." Kurama was very still now. He looked much older now and much more preoccupied. "I had him in checkmate, but then he killed himself." His gaze caught mine. "I have seen a lot of people do that, Keiko.

"I have seen a lot of people do things that I never wish for you to see. I have watched people die without feeling remorse for them, even good people Keiko." Kurama continued to speak. His voice was low and soft, just barely above a whisper, yet I heard every word. "I have killed good people, Keiko. Humans and demons alike, and I have enjoyed it."

I did not know what to make of this conversation. What was Kurama trying to do? I was not sure, but what I did know was that with each word he spoke he seemed to wilt a little bit. It was frightening. So, I did the only thing I could to silence him.

The kiss took him by surprise, I knew that. He had prepared himself for many things, but not that, especially from me. His body was tense but gradually, it melted. I released his lips and pulled back just far enough to feel his soft breath on my face. Quietly, I said, "You're home now. It's over."

Kurama's eyes found mine. I do not know what I expected to see in them. Perhaps shock, surprise, or maybe even anger, but the gratitude and relief I saw there was more than I could hope for. "Thank you."

Kurama could relieve his bloody past with Yusuke, Hiei or Kuwabara. He could recount with haunted eyes everything he had seen, everyone he had battled – all who had died. And they in turn could relieve their own memories, all together wallowing in guilt and sharing pain. But with me, he could only speak of the future. I represented somewhere safe, a place to heal and live. I was tomorrow. I was the certainty of a new day, the belief in something that was not tainted. The opportunity to find good.

I did not know what tomorrow held. I did not know how I would explain this to Yusuke – how I would tell him I'd fallen in love with his teammate. I did not know the consequences that it would have for Kurama. I only knew that I did, that I had fallen unconditionally and unexplainably in love with him.

And for me, that was enough to weather whatever tomorrow brought.

**(A/N): Please review.**


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